Finding Yourself in the Psalms

Psalm 61

A Psalm for the Weary Traveler

PSALM 61
 David leaving Jerusalem as Absalom’s men advance.
 2 Sam 15:14, 30; 17:24-29
 Barefoot
 Leaving God’s sanctuary!
David Prays for security that only God can give
PROPHETICALLY – about JESUS!

Psalm centers around THREE REQUESTS

I. Lord, HEAR ME. 61:1-2
A. “From the ends of the earth”

1. Mahaniam is 40 miles Northeast from Jerusalem – a DESSERT region.

2. David feels as if he is as far away from home as he has ever been.
B. He is weary of calling
C. Lead me to a ROCK that is HIGHER than I
1. “Too high for me to reach without God’s help”
2. Are you facing something that is too big for you to handle?
a. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Mat 5:3)
b. “Humble yourselves before the Lord and He sill lift you up”
(James 4:10)
c. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace tot eh humble” (James
4:6)
II. Lord, RECEIVE ME. 61:4-5.
A. “I long to dwell in your tent forever” – the TABERNACLE. To WORSHIP God.
B. TAKE REFUGE.
1. Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
2. Psalm 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

3. Psalm 91:9- 11 “If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the Lord, who is my refuge—then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11)For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;"
4. Written in the DESSERT.
a. Protection from the HEAT. b. Protection from ANIMALS
c. Provision of WATER
III. Lord, PROTECT ME. 61:6-7
A. Absalom orders the death of his brother, Amnon. 2 Sam 13:29
B. Revolts against his father, David
C. Absalom won over the hearts of Israel
D. Abslolom desires to KILL HIS FATHER DAVID.
E. David prays for long life. WHY? So that he might worship God!
F. Four Ways that God Answered David’s Prayer:
1. David DID live to be 70 years old

a. Psalm 90:10 “The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away."

b. 2 Samuel 5:4 "David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years."
2. David’s descendents reigned for 400 years
3. David was the Ancestor of Jesus, the Messiah.
a. 2 Samuel 7:16 “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.”
b. Micah 5:2 c. Luke 2:11
d. “Son of David” USED 17x in the gospels!
4. David lived with God forever (Psalm 61:7)
IV. Who is the “ROCK that is HIGHER than I?” Psalm 61:2???

Romans 9:33 "As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock

that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”"

1 Peter 2:5-7 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6)For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” 7)Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,”"

Jesus is the Precious s Stone
Have you trusted in Him?